Customer Reviews

Smothered - The Censorship Struggles of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour

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The 2002 documentary "The Great Smothers Brothers Censorship Wars" tells the story of how one of the most popular comedy variety shows on television in the Sixties went to far and was axed by the network. Tom and Dick Smothers were a popular comedy and folk singing team: Tommy played both the guitar and the role of dullard while Dick played bass, sang the tenor parts in the arrangement, and tried unsuccessfully to keep his brother in line. "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" first aired on February 5, 1967 going up against the #1 show on television, "Bonanza." The show finished 16th in the Nielsens and helped knock the Cartwrights out of the top spot the following season. The show was a hit with younger viewers, who liked the irreverence of the show, which poked fun at every sacred cow they could find, aided and abetted by Pat Paulsen's "editorials."

As this documentary shows, the Smothers Brothers were having trouble getting things past the CBS censors almost from the start. When Paulsen ran a joke campaign for the presidency, CBS kept him off the air fearing the real candidates would demand equal time, but the two key blows were an appearance by folk singing legend Pete Seger, who sang the Vietnam protest song "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy" and a pair of comedy "sermons" by comedian David Bernstein. The technical reason for canceling the show was the failure to provide a tape on time to be cleared by the censors, but the motivation was clearly the anti-war, left-wing, and outspoken guest stars. Tommy Smothers could yell about the First Amendment all he wanted, but in the end CBS replaced the show with "Hee Haw," a lesson that was lost on no one at the time, which was, you should remember, Richard Nixon's first term in the White House.

The documentary is fairly balanced, with talking heads from both sides, some of which will be recognizable to young viewers (e.g., Steve Martin, a Smo Bro writer). For those of us who fondly remember Leigh French, Bob Einstein, and Mason Williams, this is a nice walk down memory lane, albeit through some bad times. "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" was my favorite television show and when we left for Japan where my father was stationed it was the last television show I watched the night before the flight over. The documentary does assume that you know about the comedy of the Smothers Brothers, because that takes a back seat to the behind the camera conflicts between CBS and Tommy Smothers. Of course, in the television climate of today with what is available on cable the problems of the Smothers Brothers seems rather nostalgic, but there is still a chilling aspect to the tale when you recall the protests against the war, the assassinations of Kennedy and King, and the movement against dissent by the establishment at the end of that decade.

The great irony of course was that it was CBS that would be the network that would decide to air "All in the Family," which both ushered in an age of "relevant" prime time programming and constituted a de facto absolution for Tommy Smothers. Unfortunately, when the Smothers Brothers were let back on the air (on NBC) they were produced by Joe Hamilton, Carol Burnett's husband, who tried to force them into the mold of his wife's successful comedy variety show. By the time Tommy took over the producer's role the show was doomed by the half dozen shows he put on at the end were as fine as anything the format had seen and I am glad that when I met him several years ago I was able to tell him exactly that.

After watching this engaging documentary, I'm left seeing both sides--it had to be a terrible headache for CBS (which was trying to please everyone and make profits) to constantly deal with Tom Smothers' cast of writers who were weekly trying to push the envelope. It was also necessary for Tom Smothers as an artist to pursue his personal (and his writers') vision. For that reason alone, this is a fascinating study of the times as well as personalities. Perhaps Dick Smothers said it correctly in a short scene (near the beginning) that if they had tried to say less in an episode they would've stayed on longer and been able to say just as much.

My only wish is that there would've been more actual skits and songs from the show. Perhaps someone with a little bit of intelligence will realize that they could make a lot of money by releasing the seasons on DVD. If we have seasons of Gilligan's Island and the original Battlestar Gallatica, we should certainly have seasons of quality television such as the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.

Wow! I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised at how wonderful this DVD was! I wasn't sure what to expect based on the mixed reviews here on Amazon. I loved it!

But, I must ask, where are the original shows? This DVD has enough clips (some never broadcast) that it would seem that the original series (which, oh by the way, was filmed using video rather than film cameras so the transition to digital should be SO easy!) is out there just waiting for some smart (hint, hint, hint) soul to package up, sit back and watch the dollars come flowing in!

Why isn't this happening? (I ask rhetorically but hoping for an answer somehow!)

I encourage you to buy this video BUT, if given a choice, I would buy the originals shows first! Of course since the original shows AREN'T available . . .

I am among those who remember the Smother Brothers Comedy Hour. And I remember one of the things that a commentator said during this show, that they had some out-of-the-ordinary guests, "Not just Steve Lawrence and Edie Gormet, or Wayne Newton," as the guy said. The Who. Arlo Guthrie. Pete Seeger. These were guests they had.

But, as Rob Reiner, one of the writers, and others commented, they were so...ordinary! The blazers, the short hair (earlier, anyway). They were so American that people couldn't resist. It was also "wholesome" humor, not, say, George Carlin, or Lenny Bruce. That's how they got on, to compete with the select hour which "Bonanza" had dominated for years.

Then they did a bit--Tommy and Elaine Maye did--spoofing censors. That's where the censorship began. The whole bit was removed from the show!

In fact, the documentary shows that they were politicized by the censorship. The more they tried to say, the more they were challenged by CBS.

For what it's worth, I think their comedy hour was the last variety show I could even stomach. Most weren't very good anyway. They either weren't funny or were pathetically predictable. This opened new doors. In fact, contemporary critics said if it weren't for the Smother Bros.' show, Saturday Night Live would probably have never been on the air.

The timing of the show is just about right. Any shorter and I might have felt short changed. Too long and it may have gotten a little dry. The people the producers talked to included the Brothers themselves, the writers, including head writer Mason Williams, famous for his single, "Classical Gas," and guests including Joan Baez and Pete Seeger (who was responsible for letters CBS received reminscient of the McCarthy witch hunt!)

If you want to remember an era when television even had some potential, or even just remember a great comedy duo, this is a DVD I recommend.

This dvd is a history of the censorship problems the Smothers Brothers had with CBS back in the 1960's. They show some clips, talk to the Smothers Brothers and some of the writers (including Steve Martin and Mason Williams), and tell the story of the constant struggle they had to get their stuff on the air.

It's funny to look at the things they got in trouble for and compare them to what's on TV today. I also found it interesting to hear that Tommy Smothers was the real radical, always trying to get more political.

If you're too young to remember the show, it was a variety show, and they got into trouble for protesting the war in Vietnam, racism and the stupidity of the people running the country.

To me, it was worth the price of the disc just for the minute or two of Pat Paulsen. This is not a best of show, where they just show a bunch of clips, but it is an entertaining look at the show, the censorship and the 1960's.

For those too young to remember, The Smothers Brothers looked like clean-cut American guys, but caught up in the intense social turmoil of the time, they became unlikely spokesmen for an angry new generation, shaping their humor to reflect the tumult of a polarized nation and waging a fierce battle for free expression with their own network's censors. Must viewing for anyone who lived through this period, or wishes they did.

I first saw this DVD about three days ago. Up until that time, I had heard very little about the Smothers Brothers. The only thing I did know, I had heard from my mother: they had a show during the Sixties that had censorship problems. Already, my interest was sparked.

This documentary, orginally released on Bravo, is a wonderful introduction to the Smothers Brothers and their television program. Although the DVD is mainly about the censoring problems the Brothers encountered, there was some interesting information on the brothers themselves, and the writers behind the scenes.

The DVD is chocked full of hilarious clips. I can't wait for a chance to see some Smothers Brothers episodes. Unfortunately, there are not many resources concerning the duo, so it may be a while before I can purchase the series on DVD.

This is a great film to get you started on the road to Smotherdom. It also happens to be a great source for research papers.

This gives a good overview of the story of the Smothers Bros. late 1960s show and why and how it got cancelled. Those who are familiar with the basic story behind this may learn of some new things, such as the fact that LBJ himself watched and disliked the show (you' figure he had other things to worry about like Vietnam and Civil Rights) and of the Smothers successful lawsuit against CBS.

There are a few clips of the skits and on-air sermonizing that got the show in hot water, but very few. Joan Baez's speaking on her imprisoned husband, the hippy commentator's drug references, Harry Belafonte singing "Carnival" to footage of the 1968 Chicago riots (it's never clear if that footage actually aired), and Pete Seeger singing "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy and the Big Fool Says to Push On" and a snippet of David Steinberg's biblical parodies are about it. The other stuff is just talked about.

More clips would help, as well as an extra of an actual episode.

I bought this for my husband for Christmas and he was very pleased with it! As a huge fan of this show he admires it even more considering the social upheaval and political times it was set in and the intelligent, clever ways that the Smother's Brothers found to put a different light on events of the day. Highly recommended!

I watched THE SMOTHERS BROTHERS COMEDY HOUR every Sunday night of my young teenage years;the finest singers of the day,comedians (Pat Paulson) and young artists appeared in this hour variety show. Tom and Dickie Smothers were the All-American collegiate folk singers with their guitar and bass and homey,folksy way!.Their show was a smash....and then CBS canceled it, and none of us knew why!.Well,here it is now for all to see and hear,and if we can just think back three years when NBC bowed to political whim and shelved THE BOOK OF DANIEL then "Smothered" will help us to see that nothing has changed when a network has BIG fears and collapses under certain pressure.Tom Smothers,who actually always appeared as the shy,stupid brother was actually the loose cannon that CBS feared.There is no apology about this documentary.It is an amazing commentary on what the political and social climate was in the 1960's as the country was engaged in the Viet Nam War.It was an Era that I am proud to have influenced me, and I highly suggest this documentary for those who loved the recent film Across the Universe (Two-Disc Special Edition).There is loads of great archival footage from the show.What an Era to have lived.As the song says,"Those were the days my friend,we thought they'd never end." This is a real important piece of '60's Pop Culture that I encourage all to see.